The X-men Supreme fanfiction series is nearing its biggest milestone to date. I know there have been many over the five-year history of this fanfiction series, but this one is definitely special in its own right. Since comic books began, certain issues were recognized for being significant accomplishments and lasting 100 issues is one of the most notable. Very few series ever make it that far and even fewer make it without having to relaunch or reboot. When I began X-men Supreme, I set out to develop it with a singular, focused vision so that it could reach that milestone so long as I had the passion and support. Well after over five years of developing this fanfiction series, I’m set to reach this very special milestone.
A lot has transpired in X-men Supreme over the course of 100 issues. Magneto has launched his own uprising on Genosha, Senator Robert Kelly became President of the United States, new members have joined the team while others have left, and the X-men have saved the world from the likes of aliens, cosmic forces, and ancient creatures. Along the way, powerful relationships developed. Some blossomed into passionate romances while some ended. Entirely original characters have entered the series, complete with their own history and influences, to go along with more familiar characters that have a very different background. Yet despite all these uncanny developments, there are still so many stories I want to tell with X-men Supreme. And with this milestone, I hope to show just how far this fanfiction series has come.
I’ve already set the tone for X-men Supreme Volume 5: Dark Truths. The X-men find themselves in a more complicated world, having to maintain a fragile peace that had been forged from the ashes of Magneto’s devious plans. This peace is built on the prosperity offered by the alien technology being exported by Genosha, which is now under the leadership of the Scarlet Witch. But as we saw in Issue 98: Tech Spec Terror, there are those who seek to subvert that peace for their own gain. And in this case, that effort is very personal.
This is where Emma Frost’s story comes in. She revealed to Cyclops and Jean Grey that Shanobi Shaw, son of her former mentor, Sebastian Shaw, has imprisoned two of her cloned daughters. These girls, the Stepford Cuckoos, were cloned from her without her knowledge and used as leverage against her by the Inner Circle, which led to her betrayal of the X-men during the Phoenix Saga. Now she seeks to atone and needs help from her former teammates. However, her desire to save her daughters is only part of a much larger conflict that Shanobi Shaw has been hatching and should he succeed, the fragile peace that has held the world of X-men Supreme together will be shattered. I’ve prepared an extended preview of this looming conflict that I hope will help celebrate this major milestone.
“As you can see, we’ve also refined how we package and ship this hardware,” Havok continued, “This stuff is pretty advanced, but it goes out in its most basic forms. The main components are Shi’ar power cells, quantum computing chips, and a few hunks of exotic metals that I couldn’t begin to describe.”
“We manufacture them at a secure location buried deep within the island. I’m sure you remember that mine where you first saw the alien ship,” said Quicksilver.
“Like I can forget being shot at by some glowing alien jerk-off,” muttered Wolverine.
“Then you’ll love what we’ve done with the place,” said Havok with a wry grin, “We’ve essentially turned that mine into an underground factory using the same Warlock program Magneto tried to control. Our people and a bunch of guys in suits from various countries work to mass produce the baseline components. It’s then carted to the port where we check it, load it, and get justly rewarded.”
“And I’m not talking just about the whole peace deal either,” said Quicksilver, “We don’t give this shit away for free. We sell it at a premium. That means Genosha gets to import all sorts of goodies from the rest of the world. Now we got TVs from Japan, computers from China, beer from Germany, fruit from South America, cars from Britain, and movies from America.”
“I’m sure you punks are thrilled,” muttered Wolverine, “Saves you the trouble of having to steal it.”
“Is there any chance you’re going to say something that’s remotely relative to this mission of yours?” said Havok with growing annoyance.
“That depends,” he said in a more serious tone, “I’m working out how much I’ll need my claws to carry out this mission.”
“We can deal with your claws. We just can’t deal with one more asshole in this very sensitive area during these very sensitive times. If you’re that eager to pick a fight, do humans and mutants a favor and choose another mission.”
Wolverine snarled in response, caring little for how much he annoyed Havok and Quicksilver. Even if they thought he was just here to push their buttons, he was still serious about this mission. Professor Xavier trusted him to be his eyes and ears for this operation. Even with all these safeguards in place, there were way too many ways this treaty could go wrong.
While Quicksilver and Havok simmered with frustration, Wolverine turned his attention towards the eastern portion of the port. In the distance he could make out the imposing military base that still dominated the south side of the island. This base was a result of one of the compromises that Wanda made with the United Nations. After the Cambrian affair, a large body of international troops occupied the island. This was a major source of tension and even with the treaty, a military presence had to remain. So instead of a full on occupation, the military presence on Genosha was concentrated onto a single base and near the chief port no less. Something about that did not sit well with Wolverine.
“That cozy little base part of the tour?” said Wolverine, pointing out towards the base.
“You wish,” scoffed Havok, “That’s where our authority ends and humanity’s begin.”
“That tiny hunk of human filth has been a major source of migraines for Wanda and everyone else on this island,” said Quicksilver, “The humans insist on keeping a military base on the mainland just in case. They say it’s a security measure, but it feels like an invasion force in the waiting.”
“Right, because every human in the whole damn world just loves conspiring against you,” scoffed Wolverine, “That all there is to it?”
“Conspiracy or not, it’s a big part of this operation,” sighed Havok, “The humans process the same data we do. They don’t trust us any more than we trust them so they monitor every piece of tech that gets shipped out. They’re also wired into the mines where we have Warlock so they can make sure we don’t use it to make anything fishy like an H-bomb or something.”
“Wait…so that base you don’t control over is linked right into that alien gizmo that’s the key to the whole damn treaty? And you’re assuming it ain’t a gonna be a problem?”
“We have to. The humans demanded transparency,” muttered Havok, “One wrong move and that base will pick a fight we can’t win. Wanda knows this and promised to hex any Genosha citizen who so much as flips the place off.”
“Heh…lucky for me I ain’t Genosha,” retorted Wolverine, “I’m guessin’ if there’s any funny business goin’ down on this rock, it’s gonna come from that dump.”
With his usual impulsive nature, Wolverine barged past Havok and Quicksilver. He couldn’t conduct a full investigation for Professor Xavier without checking every possible source of trouble. He was risking the wrath of the Scarlet Witch and several major military powers, but it was his job to find every weakness in this operation and his instincts told him that trouble would most likely come from this base.
Quicksilver and Havok were once again annoyed by Wolverine’s brazen attitude. Of all the X-men they could have dealt with, he was by far the most frustrating. However, they did not go after him or even try to dissuade him. Since they were in no position to find out what was going on behind those walls, they might as well leave it to a guy best known for taking foolish risks.
“We’re not going to try and stop him, are we?” said Quicksilver.
“Quick rule of thumb, Speedy. Sometimes the best way to win a fight is to have someone else do the fighting for you,” said Havok wryly.
“If he causes a scene Wanda’s still going to be pissed.”
“If she asks, he overpowered you while I was off taking a piss.”
“Hey! Why am I the one who gets overpowered?” Pietro complained.
“She’s your sister. She’ll believe it,” said the younger mutant as he started walking towards the opposite end of the dock, “So rather than risk any more of your go, what do you say we raid the latest shipment of vodka from Russia? As far as I’m concerned, Wolverine’s tour ended five minutes ago and we lost track of him.”
It’s hard to believe that I’ve been working on the X-men Supreme fanfiction series for this long and come this far. Reaching 100 issues in this fanfiction series is truly astounding and I couldn’t have done so without the support and inspiration I’ve had from my readers. I hope this can continue for another 100 issues. But as I’ve stated previously, I am not yet decided on whether I will continue X-men Supreme after X-men Supreme Volume 5: Dark Truths. That’s why I urge everyone who follows X-men Supreme to submit your reviews and feedback to me. Either contact me directly or post your comments directly in each issue. Every bit of feedback helps make this fanfiction series more awesome. Until next time, take care and best wishes. Excelsior!
Jack
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